TAXI DELIVERS KNOCKOUT PUNCH - Strategy

Selling fresh air
10 STRATEGY November 2008
Bio
Born: Edmonton, Alta., Jan. 16, 1975
Grew up: in a supportive, entrepreneurial family
with one sister
Attended: University of Calgary
Married: to the love of his life, Laura
Children: Gavin (2) and one on the way
(ETA: Nov. 10)
Pets: Sadie, their energetic dog
Hobbies: Travel, skiing, tennis, equestrian,
investing, adventure sports
(now limited due to aforementioned family)
Career: Started with P&G in Calgary in strategic
planning sales role before
moving to Toronto in 2000 to complete
assignments in Paper and Fabric &
Home care. Moved into marketing and completed
assignments in Laundry & Paper in Canada and
managed Hair Care & Colour Division in Chile, SA,
prior to current role, managing Homecare Division
in Canada.
strategy was recently invited to co-judge P&G’s internal Best
Brand Building Award fi nalists with president Tim Penner. Seeing
the insights driving Canada’s largest CPG player’s best work was
worth sharing from a made-in-Canada inspirational POV. Here’s
a glimpse of the winner, Febreze’s Trevor Thrun, and the thinking
behind P&G Canada’s best brand-building.
If you took over the management of an
established 10-year-old brand, you might be
inclined to surmise that consumers “got” your
product over the decade since its launch.
Not so for Febreze brand builder Trevor
Thrun, manager of P&G’s home
care division, whose remit
also includes Cascade,
Dawn, Swiffer and the
Mr. Clean business.
He asked questions,
and what his team did
with the answers is why P&G
Canada’s marketing efforts
are leading Febreze strategy
globally right now.
When Febreze was introduced
to Canadians in 1998 with the
launch of Fabric Refresher,
it quickly established equity
in the realm of eliminating
pesky odours clinging
to upholstery and
other non-wipeable
surfaces around the
home. But six years
later, when P&G
decided to enter
the $200-million
Canadian air-care
market with Febreze
Air Effects spray and
Scentstories’
disc-based system, the
market was dominated
by SC Johnson’s Glade
and Reckitt Benckiser’s
Airwick and Lysol brands, which had
amassed 30%+ shares and were building off
strong brand heritage. So the Febreze team’s
mission was to parlay its odour-killing cred into
the crowded air-care space.
www.strategymag.com
BY MARY MADDEVER
Thrun, who’s been with P&G 11 years,
came in midstream on Febreze’s air-care
launch in Canada three years ago, bringing
fresh eyes to the challenge. He looked at the
numbers and saw great Febreze loyalty, but
he also saw Fabric Refresher
penetration and volume
declining. Consequently,
the Febreze team, which
consists of two people on
the marketing side, talked
to consumers to fi nd out
why. It turns out that many
didn’t believe odours lived
in fabric and therefore didn’t
see a need for the product.
And some believed Febreze
just covered up bad smells,
rather than eliminating them.
Via shop-alongs, focus groups
and consumer immersion
exercises designed and executed
by consumer research manager
Ataollah Haftchenary, the
team realized that there
was more educating to
do, and that U.S.-driven,
consumption-focused
marcom wasn’t going to
work in Canada. Wider
opportunity for trial and
a stronger emphasis on
functionality were identifi ed
as the missing links.
The research specifi cally
pointed to spelling out the
product benefi ts in marcom and
packaging in order to let the value-conscious
Canadian shopper mull over the dual
whammy of “Eliminates Odours AND
Freshens.” It might not sound earth-shaking,
but it worked.